Cover Story - Let 100 Flowers Bloom – Binoy Varghese

We move into the long awaited winter months with pleasant breeze and comfortable
weather, yet the forecast of ‘smoke’ is a reminder of the pollution we face after the festive
season. Here in Delhi we have witnessed the first year of the ‘cracker ban’ which was issued
to counteract the burgeoning levels...

Let 100 Flowers Bloom – Binoy Varghese
Indira Lakshmi Prasad
The works as a collection do not have individual titles, but are all grouped under the title ‘Let 100 flowers bloom’ Its one story under one title, consisting of around 13 paintings.
The title itself is a quote from Mao Zedong, the chairman...

Rapid Fire
An interview with An-My Lê
Rajesh Punj
Luxembourgian American photographer Edward Steichen said of a portrait that it “is not made in the camera but on either side of it” as a way of explaining how images are based on relationships, whether they be fixed or fleeting. And such variables of contact...

From Coal to Gaz to Art: Priyanka Govil
Lilian Hasler & Gaudenzpfister
When Priyanka Govil, a Delhi and Bangalore based artist, arrived at the site of her grant at Schlieren, she might have been overwhelmed. The height of her studio was tremendous and the architecture seemed to be wonderful but difficult to use:...

Sumantra Sengupta – A Journey Away From Humanism
Indira Lakshmi Prasad
Having recently exhibited work in New Delhi at Art Konsult, as part of the exhibition ‘Contrabanned’ Sumantra Sengupta’s latest series of works titled ‘Hahakar’ explores the loaded issue of India’s involvement in the First World...

A SCULPTURAL
AFFAIR
Lina Vincent Sunish
RMZ Ecoworld in Bangalore unveiled their sculpture park initiative in July 2017, opening out the possibility for thousands of office goers and general public to come in contact with art works of considerable beauty and aesthetic value.
There is an unfailing sense of...

Chitrashaala
Art & Deal Correspondent
In September 2017, it was in the picturesque Rajasthani town of Chittorgarh that the fourth edition of Chitrashaala art residency an initiative by Justa Hotels, and brainchild of the hotelier Ashish Vohra and curator Anirudh Chari.
The idea for Chitrashaala came about in...

Review (Delhi)
Swadeshi Art: Treasures of Calcutta’s Pre-Bengal School
Mallika Chakrawarti
A treasure-trove of vintage lithographs and paintings from 19th century Bengal was showcased at New Delhi’s Akar Prakar Art Advisory. The exhibition titled ‘Swadeshi Art’ was on view from 28th August to 15th October....

Review (Hyderabad)
Two solo shows
Palak Dubey
Apart from regular group shows and art events, the city of Hyderabad recently hosted two noteworthy solo shows. Kiran Kumar Varikilla’s preview show at Gallery Space (8th August to 14th August) titled ‘Form and content’ which was later shown at Jehangir art gallery...

Review (Delhi)
Art Bahrain, Across Borders
Art & Deal correspondent
There could not have been a more opulent setting for ‘Art Bahrain, Across Borders’ than Bikaner House in central Delhi. The atmosphere on the opening night was certainly electric; a mixing pot of Bahraini and Indian energy. ‘Art Bahrain,...

Illustration
In Conversation with British Illustrator – Ian Miller
Indira Lakshmi Prasad
My mother worked for a company called Simmons in the 1950’s which was based in Covent Garden (London) and was perhaps one of the biggest theatrical milliners and were responsible for dressing actors in all the big films....

The Information Age An interview with Xu Zhen
Rajesh Punj
Entrepreneurship is the best form of practice to create profit, and the profits from the brand Xu Zhen and MadeIn company are channeled back into art to make it bigger. All of the meaning of our work is built on this basis. I don’t have any restrictions...

Recollections of a journey For a Beautiful World
Dhiraj Choudhury
“I do not want to die in this wonderful world, I’d like to live among people” – thought from a poet. No one can stop time or touch it; it flows like a river and does not come back, I become older and older, crossing 81. Last year...

Whispering Torsos – Loud Motion
SANGEETA KUMARI
Torsos communicate the physical and mental being of a woman, of substance which she carries in the aura of her personality with esteem. In the anatomy of a woman the torso is the most vital part that cages emotions, sensuality, sensitivities and is probably...

Delhi
A TEMPORARY MUSEUM OF OUR TIMES AND IDEAS
Dhritabrata Bhattacharjya Tato
‘Permitted’ and ‘prohibited’ are two sides of the same coin. They switch over from one side to the other with the change of location – both politcal and geographic. CONTRABANNED: Provocations of Our Times comes at the opportune...

Kolkata
Between Method and Material: The Shifting Shape of Pedagogy
Sampurna Chakraborty
“The reason why art practice changes is not far to seek. Whatever its position in the hierarchy of activities in a society, art practice is a part of its culture complex and is tied to it with physical and psychological correlatives....

We enter the month of October still feeling the electric energy of Durga Puja
and Dussehra celebrations in the air, and the cool nights of autumn to look forward
to and of course the blissful celebration of light, Diwali which will be fervently
celebrated by the nation in coming weeks. In our October issue we cover...

Durga Puja: Celebration of art & Creativity
Partha Mukherjee & Priyanka Mukherjee
Contrary to what many may believe, Durga Puja is more a celebration of art than a religious festival. It is a carnival of creativity that enfolds when magic touches of fingers add life to a lump of soil. Durga Puja is above all,...

Future of Kumartuli’s Artisans
Anything that has a strong foundation and adapts to changing times, stays relevant, and survives. When it comes to art and skills, who determines whether a particular art practice needs to be preserved? Any form of art, after all, has some cultural value. But are all art forms...

The History of Durga Puja in Barak Valley, Assam
Shanku Sharma
(Translated from Dr. amalendu Bhattacharjee’s Article in Bengali)
The origin of Durga Puja in Silchar may not be known but the essence of celebrating the festival remains intact. This annual Hindu or Bengali Hindu festival is one of the most...

Durga Puja Images and Pandals of Silchar:
Storyteller of Tradition, Socio-Culture and Aesthetics
Dr. Meghali Goswami
"Durga Puja, however, goes far beyond religious gathering of a particular religion, or community. In fact, visiting the Pandals in recent years, one can only say that Durga Puja is one of...

Panpatti: ‘KumarTuli’ of Silchar, Bearing Century old idol making Tradition
Dr. Ganesh Nandi
"More than hundreds of years back many idol makers used to come to Panpatti from various districts of present Bangladesh to work and they supplied idols to the Silchar people. They used to return back during...

Shakti the devine power..
Satarupa Das
"the Navapatrika or Kolabou is a form of Durga, which symbolizes all the aspects of nature in a complex vegetative state. Autumn or Sarad-writu was also the season for crops and the peasants worshiped the Navapatrika for a rich and bountiful harvest."
Durga Puja is...

The Durga Puja Pandal:
Centre Stage of Festivities and Creative Energies
Mallika Chakrawarti
A week back, the rain-bearing clouds which hovered over Delhi gave way to resplendent sunshine. The haze brought on by monsoons seemed to have lifted, and my mother made a significant remark on this fresh development....

TARPANA
Sanjay Das
Tarpan or Tarpana means remembrance and has been formed from the root word ‘Trup’ which means satisfying others. The day is considered the day of remembrance of departed souls of family members and people pay obeisance to their forefathers on the banks of the river Ganga in Bengal. This day...

Sharadotsav
Partha seal
Cultural traditions become icons of society over time, deep rooted in the psyche and mundane everyday existence. Durga Puja is a festival highly anticipated all year round, beginning with mahalaya, the arrival of the Goddess on Earth. Usually celebrated in September or Sharat Ritu the onset...

Dasha-Hara The Bonfires of Effigies
Pranab Seal
Dusshera falls on the 10th day of the Navratri as prominent as a celebration of good over evil across Northern India, depicted by burning effigies of Ravana with Kumbhkaran and meghnath. This major religious cultural event is preceded by various other celebrations...

Practice of Displaying Dolls and Figurines During Navaratri
An Interview with Rohini Sen and Eshwar Naidu
Lina Vincent Sunish
"Lina Vincent interviews young collectors Rohini Sen and Eshwar Naidu on the practice of displaying dolls and figurines during Navarathri in honour of the Goddess. Reflecting...

The Relationship to Action An interview with Richard Deacon
Rajesh Punj
"There could be a long discussion about drawing and the relationship between drawing and the work, drawing and hollowing out, and the ways in which the vocabulary of stock materials is used, and finally of a relationship to volume"
In...

In Retrospect: Recollections of Four Abstract-Loving Artists
Mallika Chakrawarti
Recollections can be a walk-through of significant events and memories that shape the identity of an artist. Certain recollections may rekindle a faint smile or trigger a grim mood, but nonetheless remain our companions till we breathe...

We are Entering the month of September after having witnessed the wonderful spectacle of Ganesha Chaturthi. The atmosphere of celebration is in the air as our news channels are filled with images of the festivities, with countless Bollywood actors and actresses attending Puja and joining in the celebrations. We have...

Art Tax. How will it aff ect the Indian Art Market? Should art work be taxed at all? – ART & DEAL CORRESPONDENT
As of July 1st 2017 the BJP government has implemented GST (Goods and Services Tax) which will dismantle state barriers and merge a variety of taxes into one, supposedly simple, tax system. The new...

A characteristically warm August follows the first month of India having operational GST (Goods and Services Tax). In this first month of the new reform, confusion hangs in the air much like the haze of humidity around the city. There has been little light shed so far on exactly how the reforms will affect individuals...

SURFACE SCRATCHES
INDIRA LAKSHMI PRASAD
The line between art and life should be kept as fluid, and perhaps indistinct, as possible. – Allan Kaprow.
It’s difficult to pin point the exact origins of performance art. Having had a crucial role in the Dada and Futurism movements, it’s been a key part of the...